Quinn I (Undaunted Men #1) (13 page)

I shrug my shoulders. “I try.”

“Well then, how old are you?” she challenges, changing the subject, and I let it go for now.

“How old do I look?” I ask with a grin.

“Ugh, really?” she asks with mock frustration. “Okay, fine.” She lets go of my hands and crosses her arms while studying me with serious conjecture. I can tell she wants to hit the nail on the head. “Mmm…I think you’re thirty-six.”

Both my brows rise in disbelief as I cover my heart with my hand. “Wow…that hurts. Do I really look
that
old?” I tease, even though she's spot on.

She holds her stance, and with the nod of her head, she replies, “Well, I’m being generous. Actually, I was going to say forty-two.” I catch the flash of a grin before she can contain it.
 

I quickly close the distance between us and do something I haven’t done in decades. I tickle the shit out her. She squeals and tries to get away, but with her heavy pack on, she loses her balance and stumbles to the ground. She’s like a turtle on its back, arms and legs flailing. I quickly slip off my pack before she can get back up, and then I straddle her to finish the job.

“Ohmygosh! Stop!” she blathers out between breaths of laughter and distress.

“Forty-two?” I taunt in mock disgust. “You’re gonna pay for that one.”

I haven’t acted this carefree in years. Somehow, she seems to bring it out of me. She looks so damn beautifully full of laughter. Her smile is perfect, and her laugh is infectious. Kimber hears our commotion and comes ripping back down the path to investigate, and then, of course, she wants to join in on the fun.
 

“Kimber, save me,” she cries out. Kimber saves her, all right. She helps me out by licking up one side of her face and down the other as she thrashes her head from side to side, trying to escape Kimber’s tongue. “Oh, no!” she squeals. I laugh as she tries in vain to keep my hands off her ribs and Kimber’s tongue from mauling her. “Uncle!” she screams. “I’m gonna pee myself!”
 

I pause to give her a breather and settle Kimber down. “Kimber, stop. Chill out, girl.” I snap my fingers to get her attention, and she backs off instantly. Her tail wags profusely, but she listens, sitting like a good girl. She’s panting hard, and the look in her eyes says she wasn’t done playing.

I lean my body over Lexi’s, my hands coming to rest on either side of her head. “Are you lying to me?” I question while arching a disbelieving brow. “The punishment is much more severe if I find out you’re pee fibbing.”

With her hands covering her belly, she works on trying to catch her breath. “Pee fibbing?” she breathes with a smile. God, she’s gorgeous, especially wearing the extra camo hat I had given her earlier.
 

“Yes, pee fibbing,” I state matter-of-factly. “You know the lie. It’s the one trump-card females use to get out of being tickled to death.”

She smiles from ear to ear, and I have to refrain from leaning in and taking her lips in a heated kiss. “Yes, I’m familiar with pee fibbing. I had to play that game my entire life, especially with my older brother. But being as I hate peeing in the woods, I’m telling the truth. I’ve been procrastinating on that task for as long as possible.”

Her ample-sized breasts catch my attention. They rise and fall as she tries to catch her breath. I fist my hands into the ground as I remind myself she is a job, only a job. I can’t make this personal, but I’m mysteriously drawn to her, and I want to kiss her again. I’ve never allowed myself to spend time with a female outside of the bedroom, but I can’t help but enjoy being around her. None of the women I’ve ever been with are anything like Lexi. Maybe subconsciously, I’ve avoided her type all along. It’s easy to push the shallower females out the door the next morning.

I’m lost in her brown, flecked eyes when her hands come to rest on my pectorals, pulling me from my thoughts. “What are you thinking about?” she softly whispers. The air between us changes, turning into something more. “Where’d you go?”

What do I say?
I’ve only known you for a couple days, and I don’t think you’re a killer? I want to kiss you like I did that first morning, even though you’re pregnant with somebody else’s baby.
How fucked up is that? “I’m thinking of that kiss we shared our first morning,” I huskily whisper the half-truth over her lips.
 

“Oh,” she breathes out, instantly sobering from her joviality. When she bites her lower lip, I reach down and gently disengage it with my thumb.

“Define your ‘oh’,” I challenge, and watch as her breathing pattern changes.
 

“Yeah, it was nice,” she exhales.

“Just nice?” I counter. “Maybe I didn’t do it right then,” I rasp in a deep undertone, wanting a second chance at those lips.

She swallows hard, and I smirk, knowing I'm affecting her. I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling this electricity. “Oh, you did it right, all right,” she breathes, and I suppress a grin at her response. Her frankness is turning me on. I'm glad she's ‘fessing up, confirming my suspicions.

“So what about you?” she softly asks.
 

“What about me?” I ask, her question confusing me.

“Do you have a significant other?”

I absent-mindedly chuckle at the thought. “Hell, no. I don’t do relationships.”
   

She nods her head and then looks away—in what? Disappointment? I can't tell, but the heated moment is gone just that fast. I’d be a liar if I told her otherwise, just so I could steal a kiss from her.
 

I push off the ground, getting off of her, and then hold out my hands in a crisscross pattern to help her up. She appears to force a smile, but I can tell it’s strained. She crisscrosses her arms while extending them, placing her hands into mine, allowing me to help her. I pull her up off the ground, and then tug her into my chest in one swift motion. I let go of her hands, and then quickly wrap my arms around her body, trapping her against me.
 

“Don’t take that personally. This is the longest amount of time I’ve spent with a woman, and right now, I’m liking it. I'm liking you. This is new to me…very new,” I admit.
 

She looks at me oddly for a moment, and then asks with skepticism, “You mean to tell me you’ve never spent more than forty-eight hours with a woman before?”

“Just one,” I answer her in all seriousness. “My mother.”

“Wow,” she responds in a perplexed tone. “I can certainly see where this would be a new adventure for you.”

“Yeah, that it is.”

Being forthcoming and blatantly honest about my feelings tends to get me into trouble with women, because they'll only want more from me, so I have no idea why the hell I’m telling her this. Unless I’m working undercover, I’ve always hid my thoughts and feelings, but she's affecting me in ways I’ve never felt before. I don’t understand it. Usually I’d have those women out the front door within the first eight hours of meeting them, but I can’t rightly do that now, can I?
 

Despite my explanation, I can tell her mood has turned solemn, so I try to break the tension. “Do I need to sic Kimber on you again?” I teasingly warn.
 

“No,” she retorts with a smile and shakes her head at the memory, “definitely not.”

Without a second thought, I tenderly push aside her ponytail, lean in, and kiss her softly on the cheek, allowing my lips to linger on her skin. I swear I feel her entire body shudder. “C’mon, Angel,” I whisper near her ear. “There’s a surprise up ahead I want to show you.”

I step back and let her go, watching her reaction to my closeness. She swallows hard and slightly sways. I internally smile to myself, because I don't think it will be long before we'll be caving in to our mutual desires. I shake my head free of the lustful thoughts, disgusted with myself for thinking these things. Maybe I just need to jack off somewhere, and then I’ll be good to go.
 

I turn around and get my backpack on, getting back to business.
 

“So,” she begins from behind me, “was I right?”

“You were close enough.”
 

“What? You’re not going to tell me?” She sounds put out, offended.

I look back over my shoulder and tell her, “I’m as old as you want me to be.”

“Seriously?” she huffs.

I give her a quick wink as I buckle my backpack strap around my waist. “I’d like to keep you guessing for a while.”

“Ugh,” she gripes, stomping her foot, and Kimber looks at me, tilting her head in such a way, wondering whether or not
I’m
the troublemaker.
 

The one thing I haven't told her since our first night together is the possibility of running into a black bear or a bobcat is fairly high this time of year. Simply because it’s springtime. I know she’d shit herself if she merely caught a glimpse of a bear in the wild.
 

Earlier, I had noticed a point of interest on the map that was close by, and I thought it would be a nice surprise if we hiked there. We’ve been descending down the trail for quite some time, and I know we’re close, because I can detect the moisture change in the air. We’ve already crossed over many little streams, and watching Lexi’s reaction to the different scenery has been priceless.
 

Five more minutes of hiking, and I can hear the waterfall before I see it. We make our way around a few enormous boulders laden with overgrown moss, and stumble upon Doyles River Waterfall.
 

Alexis lets out a gasp behind me. “Oh, wow, this is simply amazing.” I turn around and smile at her reaction. “Such a peaceful setting with the water filtering around the rocks and trees. It's so picturesque.” Her eyes glisten with excitement as she takes it all in, spinning around in a circle.
 

I step forward and help ease her out of her backpack. “You like?”

She flicks her eyes from the waterfall to mine, her voice filled with excitement. “Like? No…I love it.” She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes me tightly. “Thank you.”

I return her embrace and smile. “How about a little picnic then?” I whisper in her ear. “It’s lunchtime, and I’m starved.”
 

She pulls back to look at me, wearing an unrestrained smile, and the contentment in her eyes tells me the extra few miles we hiked was worth it. “I’d love that.”
 

I step away, take off my pack, and then set up our little picnic underneath a canopy of trees right beside the stream.

Every now and then, I glance over at her as she sits on a boulder, watching and listening to the waterfall, daydreaming as she gazes at the beautiful scenery. Rich green moss has grown along the rocks and fallen tree limbs, making for a romantic background. I wish I had my camera. I'd love to capture this moment, but I don't want to pull out my cellphone and take a picture with it either, because I don't want her to think about calling anyone. I'm sure that's a selfish thought, but I want time to get to know her, and when she's with me, she appears relaxed and carefree.

I watch mesmerized as she stands up and takes off the ball cap I gave her to wear. She slips off the elastic hair band, then runs her fingers through her long beautiful hair, mussing it all up. I clench my hands into fists, because, damn, she looks incredible. Even after a long, sweaty hike she’s every bit as alluring to me. She turns and meanders through some brush to get a better view of the waterfall. The way her long brown hair flows behind her, reaching down to her curvy hips, is sexy as hell, and I simply can’t keep my eyes off her. I’ve always had a singular taste in my women, so needless to say, Lexi has caught me off guard. The women I usually date have their makeup done to perfection, and are always dressed to the nines. Their appearance was always important to me, but Lexi is different. She doesn’t need all that to be stunning. She's not concerned with needing makeup or designer clothes, and surprisingly, I like that. She’s incredibly beautiful just the way she is with her natural beauty, both inside and out. Despite her mafia background, you'd think she'd be rough around the edges, but she's not. I can tell she was raised within a loving family because she outwardly exudes a gentle, compassionate, generous heart.

She’s not skinny, but she’s not fat either. She’s built tough, not
Ford tough
, but a sexy tough in my eyes. Her physique exhibits a healthy looking, luscious, curvaceous, and desirable young woman. I imagine her toned muscles are from riding horses for years on end. She’s not a prissy, rich girl, and has no problem getting her hands dirty, which has been another surprise. I'd thought she’d come off more privileged and pristine. She gets physical and does things most women wouldn’t dare do. Plus, she doesn’t even whine about it.
 

She steps underneath a tree and stretches her body, her arms reaching upward for something, and as she does, I slowly scope down her sexy body from head to toe. I catch movement off to her right, and my heart stops cold.

“Freeze, Lexi,” I bark in a quick, sharp, and concise voice. “Don’t move.” It must be the tone of my voice, because she takes me seriously and freezes. I quickly give Kimber a hand signal to stay put, just in case she decides for herself that she needs to help. With practiced ease, I whip out my pistol from my side holster and aim.